Theft and sale of human body parts at Harvard Medical School morgue leads to indictments

A former manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue, his wife and three other people have been indicted in connection with the theft and sale of human body parts, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced Wednesday.

Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, N.H., stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated to the school in the scheme that stretched from 2018 to early 2023, according to court documents. The body parts were taken without the school’s knowledge or permission, authorities said, adding that the school has cooperated with the investigation.

Lodge sometimes took the body parts — which included heads, brains, skin and bones — back to his home where he lived with his wife, Denise, 63, and some remains were sent to buyers through the mail, authorities said.

Lodge also allegedly allowed buyers to come to the morgue to pick what remains they wanted to buy.

Bodies donated to Harvard Medical School are used for education, teaching or research purposes. Once they are no longer needed, the cadavers are usually cremated and the ashes are returned to the donor’s family or buried in a cemetery.

In a message posted on the school’s website titled “An abhorrent betrayal,” deans George Daley and Edward Hundert called the matter “morally reprehensible.” They said Lodge was fired May 6.

“We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others,” the deans wrote. “The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS and, most importantly, each of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to HMS through the Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research.”

The indictment charges the Lodges and three others — Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Mass.; Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pa.; and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minn. — with conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods.

It was not known Wednesday whether any of the defendants had retained a lawyer who could comment on their behalf.

According to prosecutors, the defendants were part of a nationwide network of people who bought and sold remains stolen from the school and an Arkansas mortuary. The Lodges allegedly sold remains to Maclean, Taylor and others in arrangements made through phone calls and social media websites.

Taylor sometimes transported stolen remains back to Pennsylvania, authorities said, while other times the Lodges would mail remains to him and others. Maclean and Taylor resold the stolen remains for profit, authorities said.

Denise Lodge made her initial court appearance Wednesday in federal court in Concord, N.H., and was released on personal recognizance bail, WMUR-TV reported. She declined comment as she left the courthouse.

Cedric Lodge was scheduled to make his initial court appearance later Wednesday.

Two other people have previously been charged in the case.

Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Bloomsburg, Pa., allegedly bought some remains from Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Ark., who allegedly stole them from a mortuary where she worked. Authorities have said Scott stole body parts from cadavers she was supposed to have cremated, noting many of the bodies had been donated to and used for research and educational purposes by a medical school in Arkansas.

Pauley allegedly sold many of the stolen remains to other people, including Lampi. Pauley and Lampi bought and sold from each other over an extended period of time and exchanged more than $100,000 in online payments, authorities said.

Scott and Pauley have both pleaded not guilty.